READY TO WADE IN – Whether it’ meant taking boats out to offshore wind farms in Ireland and England, or wading in to speak to shellfishmen in Osterville, Ed Maroney has enjoyed the variety of a newspaperman’s life.

Journalism career started on Cape in 1988

Twenty-five years ago, Ed Maroney came to Cape Cod to work on one of the region’s newest weeklies, the Chatham Current. This week, he was named editor of its oldest newspaper.

“I am delighted that Ed will lead The Barnstable Patriot as its editor,” Peter Meyer, president and publisher of Cape Cod Media Group, said in a statement. “His impeccable journalism credentials and complete dedication to the Patriot, the town it serves, and its readers make him the perfect choice.”

Meyer said he expects “that Ed’s inquisitive mind and sense of humor will resonate throughout the pages of the Patriot and enlighten readers each week for years to come.”

Born in New York State, Maroney earned a degree in journalism from Boston University before working for 15 years at Children’s Hospital, winding up his “first career” as manager of community services and the division of ambulatory pediatrics.

In 1988, he went to an open house for reporter and editor candidates held by Cape Cod Newspapers, which Patriot readers may remember as the publisher of the Cape Cod News. He had been urged to attend by his wife, who warned, “If you don’t go, don’t ever again say to me, ‘Gee, I wish I worked on a newspaper.’”

Somewhat to his surprise, and based on extensive college newspaper clips, Maroney was hired as editor/reporter for the Chatham Current and editor of the reporter for the Harwich Oracle. It was the start of a journeyman’s career that saw him march under flags that also included the Brewster Oracle, The Cape Cod Chronicle, The Cape Codder, The Upper Cape Codder, and The Register. Maroney was associate editor of the Patriot from 2000 until earlier this year, having worked here also for a brief time in the early ‘90s.

“I’m pleased to say I was hired twice by David Still II, my predecessor as editor,” Maroney said. “Once in 1992, by David and publisher Barbara Williams and again in 2000 by David and publisher Rob and Toni Sennott.”

The Barnstable Patriot, said Maroney, “is a precious gift handed down to us by generations of owners and staffers. I’m deeply appreciative of the opportunity to help pass it on.”

Maroney, 62, lives in Hyannis with his wife, Ellen C. Chahey, a longtime columnist for the Patriot.